The King of Comedy
Martin Scorsese brings us the delightfully dark and comic The King of Comedy from 1983. The film is a deep and dark journey through the mind of a fame-obsessed wannabe, using the entertainment business as a metaphor for the choices we make and pulling an awe-inspiring performance out of Robert De Niro. The film takes a close look at the entertainment industry and the obsession of crazed fans, too, drawing us in with rich characters and engaging dialogue.
Robert De Niro stars as Rupert Pupkin, a stage-door autograph hound and an aspiring stand-up comic. He has obsessive ambition in terms of wanting to be famous and doesn’t want to slog it out with the rest of the comics at comedy clubs or do things the hard way. No, dear Pupkin wants success and he wants it instantaneously by appearing on the popular late night talk show of his era, hosted by Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Pupkin hangs out with the crowd behind the Jerry Langford Show and hopes for his chance to get to talk to Langford. Eventually, a chance meeting comes to pass and Pupkin believes that his career is really on its way because of some encouraging but generic words from Langford.
Pupkin chases these words and uses them like ammunition for the weapon that is his life, putting enormous effort into chasing down Langford again to secure his spot on the Jerry Langford Show but never practicing his material or working on the nuances of his craft. Instead, Pupkin spends his time lining up a relationship with a high school acquaintance and hanging out with a stalker (Sandra Bernhard) obsessed with Langford’s every move. Eventually, things go from bad to worse for Pupkin and he begins to lose his grip on the situation. Desperately, he turns to Masha (Bernhard) and they hatch a plot to kidnap Langford and get Pupkin on the Jerry Langford Show by force.
The plot unravels, naturally, and Pupkin is eventually brought down by the fuzz, but not before he can do his act on the Jerry Langford Show. The routine is mediocre and actually garners some laughs, but all Pupkin does is essentially tell his life story. The greatness of the scene is that the true horrors of Pupkin’s life, including child abuse and an account of the kidnapping of Langford, cause the audience to laugh hysterically. Pupkin is an overnight sensation and becomes even more of a celebrity when it turns out that he actually did do what he said. The film closes with a brilliant montage of Pupkin’s release from prison and the fame that catches up to him as a result: he is booked on several shows, he releases a tell-all book and he becomes what he wanted to become all along.
The treat here is De Niro, as he transforms himself into this comedian and this obsessed man with such a calm awkward bravado that it’s absolutely hypnotic. He’s almost unrecognizable in the role, as my wife didn’t figure out until the end credits that Pupkin was De Niro (no jokes please). De Niro is offbeat, deranged and yet oddly likable. Half the time he is a victim of the cruel entertainment industry, the other half of the time he is a man that doesn’t know when to shut up and leave people alone. The awkwardness and the persistence is admirable at first as a man chasing his dream, but he crosses the line with such delicacy and purposeful intent that he makes Pupkin’s ludicrous actions inherently believable.
Lewis and Bernhard are also great in their respective roles, with a chilling scene involving the kidnapping being a highlight of their on-screen relationship. Bernhard’s “madness-from-the-outset” performance is a high-wire act of sheer chaos and it is done perfectly. Lewis’ calm celebrity is also good. Scorsese pulls the best out of the performances and out of the beautifully written BAFTA award-winning Paul Zimmerman script.
All in all, The King of Comedy is a brilliant dark comedy about the choices we make and about the things people give up in order to be famous, even for fifteen minutes. As De Niro’s Pupkin puts it: “Better to be king for a night than a schmuck for a lifetime”. With The King of Comedy, one wonders who won out in the end and how Pupkin’s journey will end. Will there be another obsessive fan to take his place? Will Pupkin better understand celebrity or will he cope poorly? The engaging thing about Scorsese’s work here is that there is so much potential for these characters to continue and to engage in life. What if Pupkin ever appeared on the Jerry Langford Show again? It truly does weave some remarkable possibilities through its maddening tale of celebrity obsession, choices and lunacy. It is a great, haunting film.
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